Ibadism represents a branch of the third great division in Islam, that of the Khawarij. It survives in some isolated communities in North Africa, but manifested itself periodically in Oman as a full Imamate well into the twentieth century. Using early material recorded in Basran and Omani sources, this book deconstructs the standard account of origins, showing that Ibadism's evolution into a madhhab (school) can only be understood in a wider...